39 User Reviews of Mediterranea Cruise Ship

Costa Mediterranea Dec 14-21 2003 ( FLL-Key
WestProgresso-Cozumel-Grand Cayman-FLL) We flew down to FLL one day
early and stayed at Amerisuites. We arrived about 8pm and the
shuttle was very busy so we opted to take a van to the hotel. $5
each for a total of $20. We were maybe in the Van 8 minutes.
Arrived at Amerisuites and were unable to have a non smoking room
due to hotel being sold out. We purchased room on line at Value
Trips.com for $69. We were not charged an extra fee for the 2
additional people in the room. The room was the TCB suite which
apparently is larger than the other suites. The rug was stained and
burned and the room was dreary. We noticed very small insects
climbing the walls by the beds. Breakfast was good, however due to
the bugs and the stained and burned carpeting I would not stay at
this hotel again. The interesting point is that this "TCB" suite is
apparently something special - Yikes!!

We had breakfast in the morning with friends we met on out
Transatlantic cruise in 2002. It was nice to

catch up with them. Breakfast was quite extensive and for the most
part very good. We then headed across the street to the liquor
store to stock up on provisions for the week. While my daughter is
legal to drink in Canada , she was not legal on Costa so her and
her friend would be having a few drinks in the room.

Since we had heard that Costa will not start boarding until 1pm
on the dot, we knew there was no rush. We left the hotel at 1pm on
the shuttle and were at the pier and checked in by 1.20pm. No lines
at all. We were given #15 as a boarding # and discovered that #3
was being called. One number was called every 6 minutes and we were
on board by 3pm. We knew the ship layout, as it is identical to the
Carnival Legend and so proceeded to the front set of elevators,
while the rest of the passengers waited in a long line for the
elevator right in front of the gangway. The ship is beautiful and
as with the Legend we loved the layout and the ship itself.

Cabin

Daughter and her friend were upgraded from an inside guarantee
to a balcony on deck seven. The upgrade was given even though they
only paid 288 plus port/tax and we did not book until Nov 2.. Cabin
was a basic balcony cabin. We proceeded to our Cat 11 balcony #
7295. This was an awesome cabin. Square in shape and at least twice
the size of a regular balcony cabin if not more. The balcony itself
was twice as deep and more than twice as wide as a regular balcony.
The outdoor furnishings were upgraded and constructed of wood with
thick cushions. The cabin was beautifully decorated with wide dark
wood trim, light wood cabinetry and a marble bathroom. The only
drawback to the cabin was the mattress was only about 3 inches
thick, about the same as a pull out sofa bed. There was more than
enough storage space for our trip. My husband promptly declared
that he could do a world cruise in this cabin.

Entertainment The 2 production shows were excellent and of the
same high Calibre of those on Carnival. My husband went to see the
Magician and did not care for the show, even though he normally
loves magicians. Husband also went to the Steel Band Show one
evening in the theatre and liked it. There was also a passenger
talent show on the last night which I missed because I was very ill
with a stomach virus.

Entertainment in the lounges appeared to be very good. We are
not night owls so I cannot give an in depth opinion of this. Others
commented on lots of talented singers and musicians.

Daytime activities were adequate, but lacked the enthusiasm of
say a Carnival Cruise. The usual Bingo, Aerobics, Belly flop
contest were evident.

Food

The food would be the main reason we would not sail on this
line/ship again. We usually look forward to our meals in the dining
room, but not on this ship. Our waiter and assistant waiter - Jose
and Chester- were wonderful, and I think that the food started out
as good quality. However, at best it was tasteless, with little use
of seasonings, sauces or garlic. The biggest surprise was the lack
of garlic when cruising Italian Style. Usually the food was
lukewarm. The desserts were not of the calibre we have become
accustomed to on Carnival and HAL and sometimes I even skipped
dessert, which is highly unusual for me. On other lines we have
been so overwhelmed by the wonderful choices for dinner that we
have often ordered 2 entrees and shared them because we could not
decide. On Costa I was often unable to find anything that really
appealed to me and as a result I sometimes had the chicken breast
or the grilled salmon , which were available every night. Breakfast
was hit and miss in the dining room. The eggs benedict were
tasteless and I stopped ordering them after day 3. Seating was open
at lunch and breakfast and while some waiters were very good others
should not be there. I truly believe that there is a morale problem
with the crew on this ship

Buffet food was acceptable, and again very bland. Even the
Mexican food had no seasonings. No trays available on buffet
lines!! I have no idea what the problem is , but the food on this
ship needs a complete overhaul. Weather The weather on this cruise
was not good. We had a huge storm on day 3 that forced us to miss
Progresso and head to Cozumel early. Cocktails were given free for
one hour as compensation. With the exception of our stop in Key
West and Cozumel the weather was cloudy and very cool. Obviously
this is not the cruise lines fault. When we arrived in Grand Cayman
we docked at the south end of the Island and tendering was handled
horribly. The Noordam and a RCCL was also tendering and their
process was going smoothly. Tendering began at 9am and we were
unable to get off until 12 noon. Many excursions were cancelled due
to the wind and the Cold temperatures. I honestly consider that we
missed this stop too. We had to pay $4 per person to go to
Georgetown on the bus ($4 back also) I was not overly impressed
with Georgetown and we stayed less than 1 hour and took the bus
back. I would not get off here again unless I had a snorkeling or
scuba excursion planned.

Crew

The pursers/reception desk, more fondly referred to as the
complaint desk, had one employee who was wonderful and 4 or 5 who
were horrible to deal with. The motto on this Ship seems to be the
"Passenger is always wrong". The internet was worthless, and slower
than dial up. It took 90 seconds to send a message after I pressed
the send button on my email. One morning I tried unsuccessfully at
several different sites to retrieve my email . Total cost $4. I
went to the Reception to ask for a refund and was laughed at. I was
told I should not have tried for so long!! The internet employee
came in one hour per day from 5.30 to 6.30pm!!! I tried to make a
call from may cabin to Captain Marvins on Grand Cayman, because
Costa would not let us off the ship with the other excursion
passengers. (Normally this would not be a problem with a cruise
line that is more organized) I tried twice to place the call and
both times I could hear the other party but they could not hear me.
Total cost $15.90 USD for worthless calls. Again down to the
Reception Desk , to be told that there is nothing wrong with Costa
's phone system that it must be Captain Marvins phone that is the
problem. No refund available, we do not give refunds under any
circumstances. I had had enough of the attitude by this time. So
far that morning I had been told I could not get off to go on my
own excursion, that I would have to pay for useless internet and
phones that did not work. I was so frustrated I was almost in
tears, and the worst part was Costa does not give a damn. Other
passengers were also there demanding refunds for worthless internet
time. Finally one female employee took pity on me and let me use
the satellite phone in the back office for free. I finally got
through to Captain Marvin's and was advised that the excursions
were all cancelled anyway.( For what it is worth, RCCL let us
tender in with other excursion passengers in Belize so that we
would not miss our self booked excursion. )

Tipping

Although the pre cruise docs ( printed specifically for the
Caribbean) state clearly that tips will be added to your on board
account, on the last day(sea day) we were advised that this would
not be the case, that it was not possible. With not ATM on board,
many people did not have enough cash to tip those that most
deserved it. We were lucky to have some cash , but others were
refused cash advances on credit cards and the Casino would not sell
any tokens or chips on the last day. Prospective"Gamblers" were
told to use their Costa Card directly at the gaming tables.
Obviously this was to deter pax from getting cash to pay their
tips. This cannot be good for the morale of the crew. Why on earth
could they not have told us on the first day, when people could
have used the ATM in Key West. Better still, an ATM should be
installed on a ship this size.

Passenger Mix.

I cannot tell you the ratio of N American to European, but there
were many Italians and Germans on Board. We also met a couple from
Switzerland. Announcements were not annoying in the five languages,
except for the life boat drill which was quite drawn out due to the
languages( Life boat drill was not held until the second evening at
sea)

All in all, I would have to say that we will not book another
Costa Cruise. For us, the service and the food on a cruise are very
important. On this Ship, both were terrible. I felt at times that
some of the Reception area staff were even getting enjoyment out of
the passengers being upset. The positives on this cruise were our
wait staff, our beautiful cabin and the beautiful ship itself. If
food and service are not important to you then you may like this
cruise.

Contrary to some of the reviews that were posted at
Cruisemates.com our family of four had a great cruise in December
aboard the Costa Mediterranea, and would gladly go again. We were
pleasantly surprised to find that the food, service, and
entertainment were excellent.(great price too)

Our kids, ages 6 and 9 absolutely loved the kids program(Squok
Club)so much so that they are ready to go again. I personally loved
the exercise area which is state of the art and has everything you
can imagine. We as a family would recommend the Costa Mediterranea
to anyone looking for a fun cruise.

Next to the worst cruise. I had to page a Costa rep at Miami
airport and show the upgrade slip becuse we were not issued
transfer vouchers. Seems that they only rely on vouchers and
haven't upgraded their computer system to have print-outs.

We were upgraded to a suite #7200 but our tickets still had the
old cabin # 8188 which caused mass confusion. At check-in I had to
show the upgrade slip dated 7/2/03 but the agent still did not
believe us. We were given a #(11) and told to wait with the other
passengers even though suites were supposed to have a seperate
waiting area. Suites and group #1 were called at the same time,
again mass confusion. Other groups numbers rushed to gate. So much
for priority embarcation.

Cabin was lovely-beautiful balcony, lovely bath with a whirlpool
that you needed a stepladder to get in an out of.

Weather was windy and chilly. Key West was great even though it
was cool it was great site-seeing weather. Port of Progresso was
closed due to high winds and rough seas. Lots of sea-sickness due
to the ship sailing past 24

knots. Cozumel was cold-about 60 with a 30+ mile per hour wind, and
Grand Cayman was a tendering port-again very rough seas and high
winds.

Food-not worth mentioning. The Club Medussa is well worth the
$20 per person charge-ours was included in the suite. The Versace
china is well worth the price of the dinner alone.

THe "cold canapes" were dime-sized pieces of stale bread with an
unknown substance on them. Only saw the "butler" the 2 times we
dined in the cabin for breakfast. Cabin stewardess was exceptional.
The ship decor is over the top reminiscent of "The Birdcage," and
the dance theme is well played throughout the ship. Beautiful
sculptures and paintings are ship-wide as is exquisite Murano glass
pieces. The chandiliers are breathtaking.

Entertainment-well, it's there. The BEST show was the passenger
talent show/toga party on Saturday night-hilarious!

Disembarcation was awful-even though we had the suite, we were
treated as the other passengers were-like cattle. We sat in a room
with about 400 passengers and finally got off the ship at
9:30am.

Don't pay for a suite-it's not worth anything since the service
is the same poor quality as a regular cabin.

Customer service is non-existant. Tendering-if you don't have a
trip booked, don't bother getting off the ship. With 2000+
passengers, it takes forever to get everyone off.

Life boat drill-total waste of time. Passengers were talking the
entire time and the couple next to us thought it was funny-he
wanted to get into the lifeboat because "I paid for it." I said
that if he got into the lifeboat, you better wish you were still on
board. Went over his head.

Disabled and elderly passengers are treated like cattle-no
exceptions are made for them nor for families with young(under age
5) children for either getting on or off the ship.

We had wonderful tablemates and a fantastic waitress-Milos from
the Phillipines-which more than made up for the rest of the
trip.

Some of the passengers said the decor was "gaudy" and some of it
is; however, just the artwork and lighting in various spots around
the ship are magificent. Spotlessly clean!

Overall opinion-on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best, I rate
this as a 2. One gets what one pays for-this was not worth it.

The Mediterranea was new in 2003. Our cruise in November found
it to be a delightful ship. It's very (my wife's term) glitzy. Lots
of marble, impressive atrium, very nice public areas and small
secluded lounges that make the experience seem intimate. Surprising
in a ship so large.

The cabin staff was excellent and the room (ours with a small
balcony) very nice. This was our first trip with a balcony and for
our style found same to be overrated.

While our waiter and busboy were excellent, the food itself was
spotty. One evening my vegetarian entree, vegetables tempura, was
almost inedible. The batter had parted company with the vegetables
and what remained was badly singed. One night the service was
inordinately slow. Our waiter had an adjoining table that was
extremely high maintenance throughout the cruise, but that didn't
seem to account for the delays that seemed to eminiate from the
kitchen itself. Lunch and breakfast were fine. One shortcoming was
a lack of informal eaterie, other than pizzia, outside normal meal
hours.

The shore excursions were predictable and typical for the
Western Carribean. We took the ships excursion to the pyramid at
Chi

Chichinitizi (sp) and since we arrived early and had an excellent
guide found it to be well with the experience. The sole problem was
with the buffet lunch that came with the excursion. It was poorly
planned and executed. The venue didn't seem prepared for a crowd
the size of ours and the pushy nature of our fellow passenger
didn't help.

The Costa line attracts a lot of Europeans and we enjoyed the
cosmopolitan nature of the cruise. One word of caution. There's
more smoking in the public areas than is common in the United
States. It takes some getting used to.

Overall, we thought the cruise represented a good value and
would certainly consider taking Costa again.

This was our eighth cruise, the fifth with Costa . Due to
reading a couple of negative reviews, we were a bit apprehensive
for the first time. We quickly learned that everyone has different
viewpoints and that is what makes life interesting!

EMBARKATION

We had spent a couple of nights pre-cruise at the Ft. Lauderdale
AmeriSuites just to unwind a bit. It was a nice stay. We opted for
a cab rather than the hotel shuttle, which was very busy at the
time. We arrived at the pier around 11:30 a.m., quickly spotted a
Costa rep outside and asked directions. She took a look at our
documents and took us inside past the waiting crowds to a separate
waiting room with chairs. This was our first cruise in a suite, and
we finally realized this was the reason we were able to bypass of
the big crowds. We were the very first to board the ship about
12:30 p.m.

THE SHIP

Our first impression of this sister ship to the Atlantica, which
we had sailed previously, was WOW! We liked the decor even better
than the Atlantica. The quality shows everywhere. No cost

has been spared. There was plenty of marble, glass and wood nicely
blended into a most pleasing arrangement. We found all the public
areas to be not only attractive but also comfortable and relaxing.

CABIN

Our Panorama suite was large, comfortable and beautiful, with
plenty of storage space, a closet in the living/sleeping room as
well as the dressing room, drawer space everywhere, and a beautiful
marble bath with double sinks, whirlpool tub/shower combo. We had a
large, completely private balcony with teak reclining lounge chairs
and a table. Suite passengers are provided with daily dining room
menus and may order in if they choose. We did have a full breakfast
in our room a couple of mornings.

FOOD

Contrary to some reviews, we found the food to be very good. We
like to try new things, and we did every night in the main dining
room with no disappointments. The pasta courses were very good. We
had a table for two as we had requested and service was prompt.
Orders were always correct, no mix-ups. Our waiters were polite but
unobtrusive, which we liked. We never had a bad meal! We had most
breakfasts and lunches at the buffet restaurant and found the
selections varied and quite good. Be sure to explore the different
serving stations before deciding on your selections. Also the
hamburgers at the outside grill are first class. Soft serve ice
cream and pizza are always available as well.

ENTERTAINMENT

The main theater is absolutely beautiful. During the course of a
week there is something for everyone. A magician, Irish tenor,
classical piano and two production shows were all good. But the
highlight for us was a steel band concert by a group called Island
Magic. This was one of the best concerts we have ever witnessed. If
they are playing, don't miss it!

DEBARKATION

Very smooth. We were in a cab back to our hotel by 9 a.m.

OVERALL

This was our best cruise ever. The ship was beautiful, the food
and entertainment excellent. My wife and I have tried to think of
something negative, but honestly can't come up with anything that
was not flawless. Costa remains our favorite line.

Before booking we read Anne's review of the sister ship, Costa
Atlantica. Her review was right on target. I find her reviews
usually are.

I would like to amplify a few points. The food is worse than she
describes and the service is still poor. Anne mentions that Costa
is working on a training program---evidently this has not started
or if it did start, it fails to train people correctly.

Although our cruise was the first in the Carribbean for this
ship, the passengers were a very high percentage of non-US. There
were a considerable number of children and teenagers as it was a
Thanksgiving Cruise. Most were behaving well but a number were not.
Costa made no effort at restraining them.

We always thought Carnival attracted people who wanted a noisy
time, but we realize Costa has them beat.

It is a very poor cruise line for Honeymooners and the ones we
met were ready to shoot their Travel Agents.

Lastly---Anne's reviews are right on target and we would
recommend everyone reads them before booking a cruise anywhere.

My friend,Barbara, and I have each cruised many times and we
were both terribly disappointed on this two night trip to Freeport.
The trouble getting on the ship was not entirely Costa 's fault as
there was a problem in Miami and all the ships at that port were
diverted to Ft. Lauderdale. However, we took the bus from Ft. Myers
at 8:00 a.m. and arrived at the cruise terminal at 10:30. We had
been advised beforehand that we would not be embarking until after
3:00. We had the foresight to bring snacks. We were given a card
with a red number one on it. We did get on the ship by 3:30.
However,there was no parking available later in the afternoon and
some people that came later left and went home because they
couldn't park and saw the huge lines outside. My daughter and her
friend, a first time cruiser, had to go to the airport parking lot
and take a bus back to the ship.

They stood in line and finally got on the ship at 5:30. They had
not eaten since breakfast they too, almost gave up

and went home.They were on board just in time for the life jacket
drill. They were late for the first seating and treated rudely. The
service on this ship was terrible. I tried room service. No answer.
My friend called at a different time, left an order and an hour an
a half later cancelled it and went to bed. The mattress was
uncomfortable and squeaked. At dinner the first night my vegetables
never arrived nor did my friend's baked potato. Who decided that
the best place to have a midnight "buffet" was the crowded casino?
Steam trays were lined up alongside plates as lounge chairs were
pushed back. People were trying to get through the mass confusion
to leave the casino with their food. This was the poorest excuse
for a midnight buffet and the poorest place to have one.

The stateroom was nice and well done. The food in the dining
room was good....if you got it. Barbara and I talked to at least 40
people and asked them how they liked the cruise and not one felt
any differently than we did. I asked them if they had talked to
anyone that liked the ship and the service and they all said they
had not. The decor is a matter of taste. Some of us feel it is
ostentatious while others liked it. The money seemed to be put into
the decor for show while the practical but necessary things were
left wanting i.e. no shampoo or lotion in the bathrooms, no room
service or comfortable beds. I will only sail on the tried and true
lines like the Princess, NCL and RCI.

We recently cruised on the Costa Mediterranea, leaving Genova,
Italy on November 5, 03 and arriving in Miami, Florida on November
21. This cruise was a great disappointment. This state of the art
new ship has a decor that was gaudy! It was not a restful tasteful
decor. The staff was cold, often rude and offered little
hospitality.

We thought the whole cruise was very disorganized. Dining areas
would close early or open later than posted. We had a problem
getting a read out of our final bill. Embarkation and
disembarkation were slow and disorganized. It took more than three
hours to get on the ship and more than four hours to get off.
During this time we stood in line with no help from the Costa
staff. Our included transfers to the air port after we disembarked
never did show up, we took taxis at our own expense.

Smoking areas were not observed, people seemed to smoke wherever
they pleased. Life boat drills were poorly done. We would not have
really known what to do in an emergency.

The food was not well prepared and often of poor quality.
Desserts were often

tasteless, breads at the lunch buffet were stale, the juices were
watery, ice cream at the buffet was from a soft serve machine and
was tasteless, ice cream in the dining room was often served
melted. They did not know how to serve properly. Dining room
service was slow because our waiter had too many tables to serve.
We complained to the dining room manager and it made no difference.

The beverage service machines were closed quickly after a meal
so we could never get ice tea or coffee between meals. They never
did serve such drinks as free lemonade. It was obvious that they
wanted us to purchase from the bar.

Our cabin was nice and the ship was clean except for the last
day when the tables were dirty, no ice in our cabin. It appeared
that they were ready to get rid of us.

The entertainment was either very good or very poor. The theater
was lovely and state of the art.

There was no entertainment such as a Caribbean band around the
pool area. No fun special drinks were ever served in take home
souvenir glasses.

Our port calls were too brief. The paid excursions were let off
first, those of us who were taking our own trips had to wait longer
to get off the ship, this shortened our port time even more.

The public areas on the ship were hot. The air conditioning was
not adequate.

We came back yesterday from a 5 days cruise on the Costa
Mediterranea (its second voyage) and we can confirm that the
official review of Costa Atlantica fits perfectly also to this new
ship.

But we would like to add something: you will feel isolated as if
you were in an enormous shopping mall even if you are Italian...
it's not a language problem, simply nobody talks to you... And even
if Costa advertisement says that "the ship is inspirated by Italian
ancient buildings", in fact the decor is horrible and kitsch and
the best place to stay is your cabin.